12 Jan
More Birthday Cakes
Posted by Michelle as Special Occasion Cakes | 20 Comments
These birthday cakes were done for a very good friend of mine whose father and daughter happen to share a birthday. She threw a party celebrating both this past weekend and wanted a special cake for each of them. Her daughter turned 2 and she planed a brightly colored polka dot theme, and her dad does a lot of carpentry work so she had asked for a cake shaped as a hammer for him. This was my first time doing carved cakes, so I channeled Duff and Ace of Cakes and ultimately was really happy with how these turned out. I ended up carving these free hand after doing a couple of sketches and then did all of the decorating in fondant.


06 Jan
Penn State Graduation Cake
Posted by Michelle as Special Occasion Cakes | 19 Comments

This cake was made to celebrate the December graduation of a Penn State University student. The client asked for a 2-tier cake with dots on the bottom tier, stripes on the top tier, and the iconic Nittany Lion on the top of the cake. I was admittedly a little nervous about pulling off the lion, but was really happy with how it turned out! The client loved it and I heard they still haven’t cut into the top layer because they don’t want to ruin the lion
04 Jan
The Best of 2008
Posted by Michelle as Favorites | 8 Comments
Although I am a couple of days behind, I wanted to do a “year in review” of the food I featured on my blog over the past year, similar to what I did for 2007. I took a lot of new leaps in the kitchen during 2008, tried many new things and conquered a number of culinary fears so it was certainly a successful year! While I enjoyed everything that I blogged, of course I have my favorites so below is a review of my “Favorites of 2008″. Hope you enjoy and Happy New Year!
January 2008
Homemade Gnocchi
Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte
February 2008
Almost Fudge Gateau
Homemade Granola
Spaghetti & Meatballs
March 2008
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche
Apple Pie-Cake
Tiramisu
April 2008
Cheesecake Pops
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
May 2008
Pita Bread
Enchiladas
June 2008
Danish Braid
Pizza Dough
Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
New York-Style Crumb Cake
French Chocolate Brownies
July 2008
American Sandwich Bread
Pasta Fagioli
Blueberry Pie
August 2008
Strawberry Pretzel Squares
Croissants
Cheddar Ale Spread
Italian Bread
Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo
September 2008
Grown Up Mac and Cheese
October 2008
Buttermilk-Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake
Chili
Challah
Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
December 2008
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Dirty Risotto







